Their efforts may be masked in the form of some type of party or social occasion, but the revenues raised from those is going straight to the benefit of residents in the community who need it.
They have formed a network of supporters from every segment of our community and it includes many individuals and businesses who have the means to contribute significantly to improve the lives of area children. That is the focus — the children.

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Two days before Christmas, a Ruston teen proved just how important those words of advice were.
Phillip White, 16, was visiting with other family members during a holiday get-together when tragedy struck. White’s nephew, 15-month-old Dakota Lowery, fell into a pond and appeared to have drowned.
White jumped into the water, grabbed Dakota, and handed the toddler to his mother. Family members then piled into a van for a trip to the Lincoln General Hospital emergency room.

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“That’s not what we’re looking at,” Lincoln General board member James Davison said Friday morning in response to a story that ran in The News-Star. “We are considering additional help from some of our regional partners, but we’re not looking at privatization.”

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December 30th

Each morning he put on his jacket and tie, packed an apple and sandwich in a small brown paper bag, and jumped on his 10-speed. He appeared content to peddle while my sister, brother and I, all in our teens, drove cars to class.
Sometimes his travel mechanism of choice evoked unpleasant reactions from others. He recalls a time when a truckload full of outspoken teenage boys passed him on the road shouting something less-than-respectful.
My father preceded to pedal after the truck to offer the young men a few words about acceptable traffic communication and etiquette.

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And the gift came from what might be considered the most unlikely of sources — her nephew Phillip White.
Dakota Lowery, a 15-month-old youngster, was playing with his siblings during a family holiday get-together when his brother Colton began screaming.
“We didn’t know what had happened,” Lowery said. “Dakota’s sister, Tayloreanne, pointed out to us where they were.”
When Lowery and other family members found the two youngsters, Dakota was lying face down in what his grandmother, Diane Woods, described as nothing more than a “water hole or small pond.”

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December 28th

My parents have almost always held a Christmas Eve party. When I was younger, the adults would stay in the warm indoors eating turkey and cakes, and any kid 15 years old or younger would bundle up, head outdoors and play hide and seek — the best game ever — for hours.
This particular time my friend and I were running in the back yard, looking for a place to hide. We headed toward the large shed, and as we turned the corner, our field of vision was almost nonexistent. I ran faster and faster — and barreled my shins into a large, metal ladder that had fallen and was lying on its side.

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The first call came at 9:38 p.m. Sunday, when a neighbor complained to police about “some type of disturbance,” Ruston Police Public Information Officer Sgt. Curtis Hawkins said.
“Officers noticed his wife had bruises on her arm,” Hawkins said. “The wife told our officers the bruises were from medical treatment she had received and insisted the disturbance was only vocal. Both said nothing had happened, so our officers left the scene.”

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On Dec. 10, head coach Keith Richard’s team lost at Southern 63-47 and then won over Louisiana-Lafayette 85-78 three nights later.
Then came three contests within five days, an 80-67 win over McNeese State being posted before falling to No. 4 Memphis 76-58.
And most recently, the Bulldogs slammed Tougaloo College 92-58 before taking some time off for Christmas.
The rest ends on Wednesday with a trek to the University of Wisconsin. Tipoff time against the Big Ten member will be 7 p.m.

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December 27th

Offensive Player of the Year? It’s Grambling State University quarterback Bruce Eugene.
Defensive Player of the Year? Former Ruston High star Kyle Williams of LSU.
Coach of the Year: Melvin Spears of Grambling.
And overall, a total of 13 players with links to the parish are representatives on either the first, second or honorable mention lists of the squad selected by a voting panel comprised of LSWA members.
Eugene and Williams were overwhelming choices for their respective honors, each totaling 12 votes and beating out their nearest competitor by no fewer than eight ballots.

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Here’s a list of gifts I hope were received this morning:
- A contract extension for Louisiana Tech University football coach Jack Bicknell. Whenever I think about the job Bicknell and the rest of his staff have done of competing in a difficult conference, facing long road trips, sandwiched around battles with such perennial powers as Florida, LSU and Auburn, I’m reminded of an old saying: We’ve done so much, for so long, with so little, that we feel like we could do just about anything with absolutely nothing.

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